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Commodore Force
See here for a front cover gallery. Commodore Force was a short lived magazine dedicated to the Commodore 64. Published by Europress Impact, the magazine, which was the successor to Zzap!64, lasted 16 issues, from January 1993 to March 1994. History Zzap! 64 had changed drastically since the early days and the publishers had decided to re-launch the magazine completely. In fact the magazine was given a completely new name ‘Commodore Force’. The name change was not only to keep in line with the current Europress Impact titles, Sega Force, N Force and Amiga Force, but to distance itself away from the old Zzap!64 style. The early editorial team included Steve Shields (Managing Editor), Phil King (Deputy Editor), Chris Hayward, Ian Osborne and James Price, all staff writers. Issue 1 was released with cover date January 1993. Regular editorial content included What’s Happening (news), Reel Action (2x cover tapes), Lloyd Mangram’s Mail Bag (letters), The Tipster, Public Sector (PD column), Bash Yer Brains (Adventure section) and The Mighty Brian (a technical section written by Andrew Fisher). First Samurai received the first new Commodore Force ‘Hurricane Hit’ accolade with a 97% overall rating. Issue 4 and publishers Europress Impact change name to Impact Magazines. Controversy as Emlyn Hughes International Soccer was released on budget and, harshly, reviewed by Chris Hayward and Miles Guttery, giving ratings of 46% and 70% respectively. Needless to say that countless EHIS fans bombarded the magazine with complaints. The magazine would later retract the rating in a games round up in issue 10 and awarded it a middle-of-the-road 75%. Issue 10 (aka Zzap! 64 no. 100) featured a pull out Zzap! 64 100th issue special featuring all the Gold Medal games in the magazines history. Steve Shields left to go to Sega Force Mega / Sega Master Force, leaving the Editor’s position to James Price. Issue 11 and Commodore Force listed its Top 100 C64 games of all time. Top three games listed included Head Over Heels, runner up Laser Squad and top spot went to Frankie Goes To Hollywood. A triple whammy of Hurricanes reviewed in issue 12. The long awaited Mayhem In Monsterland and Lemmings both receive an overall rating of 97%, while Alien 3 gets a 93% rating. The readers got their chance to have a top 100 C64 game of all time list. Creatures comes out on top, followed by The Blues Brothers, Creatures 2, Turrican 2 and Bubble Bobble. A Readers’ Awards of 1993 in issue 15 included main awards Beat ‘em Up went to Barbarian 2, Best sport game was Emlyn Hughes International Soccer. The Blues Brothers won best Movie Tie-in, while the main Best Game Overall went to Mayhem In Monsterland. Issue 16’s next month page announced that the next issue would feature the CF teams favourite game. “Issue 17 – on sale, March 10”, though it never did go on sale. Due to Impact Magazines closing Commodore Force ended after 16 issues. Editors Steve Shields (Managing Editor) James Price Writers Please see here for a list of writers who are credited with writing articles or reviews in Commodore Force. Stats Reviews See here for a list of reviews in this magazine. Other Info Issue Index Category:Europress Impact magazines Category:Magazines launched in 1993 Category:Commodore magazines